Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-01-15


body OF his siisoasated slaves.
What does he do--this hero in gray,
with heart of golh--does he sit down
sulleness and despair? Not for day.
Surely God, who who scourged him in
prosperity, inspired him in his ADVERSE
ty As this was never before 80 over
whelmlng never wGs-estoration swiiter
The soldier steppeHfrom the trenches
into the iurrow; horses that had charged
Federal guns marched before the pillow,
and fields that ranred with human
blood in April were green with the
harvest in June; women reared in lux
ury cut up their dresses and made
breeches for uleir husbands, and with
patience and herOism that fits women
always us garment, gave their hands
TO work. There was little bitterness in
all this. Cheerfulness and frankness
prevailed. "Bill Arp" struck the key
note when he said; well, | killed as
many of them rs they did of me, and
now | am going 10 work" laughter
and applausel, or the soldier, returning
home after defeat and Roasting some
corn on the roadside, VINO made the
remark to his comrades: "You may
leave the South If you want to, but
n going to SaunderviIe, kiss my wife
and raise crop, and If the Yankees fool
with me any more / will whip 'em
again.p Renewed laughter. ! want
TO say TO Gen. Sherman--wllo is con-
sidered an able man in our parts,
though some people think he is a kind
Of careless man about fiHe--that from
the ashes left us in 1854 we have raised a
brave and beautiful city; that somehow
or other we have caught the sunshine
in the bricks and mortar OF our homes,
and have buided therein not one single
ignoble prejudice or memory lap
plause.
THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.
But what is the sum OF our work
We have found out that in the general
summing up the free negro counts more
than he did as slave. We have plan.
ted the school-house on the hilltop and
made it free to white and black. We
haze sowed towns and cities and
in the place Of theories, and put BUSH
ness above politics. Applause We
have challenged your iron-makers in
Pennsylvania. We have learned that
the $4000,000,000 annually received
from our cotton crop will make us rich,
when the supplies that we make are
home-raised. We have reduced the
commercial rateoi interest from twenty
four to six per cent and are floating four
per cent bonds. We have learned that
oneNorthern immigrant is worth fifty
foreigners and have smoothed the path
to the Southwark, wiped out the place
where Mason and Dixon's line used to
be, and hung our latch-string out to
you and yours. Prolonged applause.
We have reached the point that marks
perfect harmony in every household,
when the husband confesses that the
pies which his own wife cooks are as
good as those his mother used to bake;
and we admit that the scn shines as
brightly and the moon as softly as it
did "before the war. Laughter. |
We have established in city and couu-
try. We have fallen in love with work.
We have restored comfort to homes
from which culture and elegance never
departed. We have let economy take
root and spread among us as rank as
the crab-grass which sprung from
Sherman's cavalary camps until we are
ready to lay odds on the Georgia Yankee
as he squeezes pure olive oil out OF his
cotton seed, against any down-Ester
that ever snapped wooden nutmegs for
llanel sausages in the valleys OF Yer
mont Above all, we know that we
have achieved in these piping times
of peace" a fuller independents for the
South than that which our fathers
sought to win in the forum by their
eloquence or compel on the field by
their swords. Loud applause.
1t is rare privilege, sir, to have had
part however humble, in this work.
Never was nobler duty confded to
human hands than the up-bullding OF
the PROSTATE and bleeding South, mis-
guided, perhaps, but beautiful in her
suffering, and honest, brave and gener-
GUS always. Applause. ] In the rec
cord of her social, industrial and po-
litica restoration we we await with CON
fidence the verdict OF the world.
But what of the negro? Have we
solved the problem he presents Or pro-
crossed IN honor and equity toward its
solution Let the record speak to this
point. No section shows a more pros
porous laboring population than the
negroes of the South, none in fuller
sympathy with the employing and
land owning class He shares oul
school fund, has the fullest protection
of our laws and the friendship OF oui
people. Sell-interest AS we'll rs honor
demand that he should have this. Our
future, our very existence depend upon
our working out this problem in iul
and exact justice. We understand thai
when Lincoln signed the emancipation
proclamation your victory was assured
for he then committed you to the cause
of human liberty against which the
arms of man can not prevail - Zap
plause while those of our statemer
IL